Play: A Doll's House Part 2

Tonight, I headed to A Doll's House Part 2, at Donmar Warehouse - sequel to the famous original, where the wife leaves an unhappy marriage; this sequel examines what happens when she returns. And it turned out that this was my last day at work - so it was handy still to have the office, because it's very handy for here. Such a short walk that I stayed quite late, meaning I finally managed to grab my boss in the evening to give him my laptop - he'd been stuck in meetings all day. He's a cold fish - that was the first conversation I'd had with him all day! and I did almost all the talking. I had a much nicer chat with the receptionist downstairs, who was new, and wasn't sure what exactly I should do with my now defunct ID - so we nattered away while we waited for someone more senior to happen by.

Well, I mightn't have had my laptop - but that bag still weighed a ton! (particularly with the stationery I snaffled). So, I was glad that my seat was in the Stalls, and only up one flight of stairs rather than two. I queued for a drink - and with the limited seating, was glad that the house was open by that stage, and that we could take drinks in. Equally glad that the bench seating meant I could stuff my laptop bag under the bench - although, with this 90-minute show with no interval, that bench wasn't the most comfortable..

Yes, we couldn't see much with this doll's house - but of course, that gets lifted out of the way when the play starts. And Nora, the deserting wife, comes in and explains her case to the maid, Anne Marie. Explains what she's been doing in the meantime, and how now she's returned - after 15 years - to secure the divorce that her husband, Torvald, never got around to applying for! He has to be the one to do it - it's much more difficult for a woman.

Delivered in the same matter-of-fact way as the original, this play brings what you might call a resolution - at least with Torvald and Emmy, his and Nora's daughter. Anne Marie is - in her own words - pissed off at having had to care for these children for the past 15 years while Nora was off who knew where. Yeah, the interjection of modern language like that is a bit at odds with the formality of the costumes, and the delivery in general - I didn't really like it. But, as I say, the play does a good job at healing the family rift, so it's a worthy sequel - in that sense. I have read a review that complained about the fact that we don't focus much on the detail of Nora's new, independent and successful life - which is true. But this is still worth a look. Runs till the 30th.

Still close enough to home to walk it, damnit - laptop bag and all. And, ironically, the route took me past the office.. Felt like my shoulder was about to give way by the time I got in.

Tomorrow - well, I finally saw Up In The Cheap Seats (UITCS)' ad for Unfortunate: The Untold Story of Ursula the Sea Witch, at the Underbelly Festival! A parody musical, right up my street - I hate how Meetup so often doesn't show me the events I really would enjoy! Just as well I saw this in time, before I booked anything else. So it'll be a hectic evening, with an interview scheduled for 5.30! Just as well I've finished work already. Meantime, the festival just sent me an info email yesterday, including my ticket code and instructions.

On Wednesday, back with CT for a concert by the Royal College of Music Brass Ensemble, at the college on Shelton Street.

On Thursday, back with Guided Walking Tours in Brighton and Sussex, for The London Necropolis Virtual Tour. I pointed out to him that the registration link had the wrong date, and he said it was outdated, and he'd replace it and send me the new link - well, he's removed it, but no new link yet. 

And then - you guessed it, I'm back to Ireland for the weekend again! I'll finally get to see Elvis - in the Omniplex this time, as it's no longer showing in the early afternoon in Ennis. Directed by Baz Luhrmann, and apparently as flamboyant as you'd expect from him, according to a glowing recommendation by someone I know who's just seen it! This is the story of Elvis (of course, there could only be one), played - apparently most realistically - by Austin Butler, with Tom Hanks as his manager, Col. Tom Parker, and Olivia DeJonge as his wife, Priscilla.

Next Monday, I'm going to Favour, at the Bush Theatre - after much effort, as their website wasn't working for days! In fact, it seems to go down sporadically. I chose an unreserved seat, will be allocated one on the day. Anyway, I see TAC has now started selling tickets for this - gee, might be not only the cheapest, but the easiest way to book! Now only available tomorrow, with a waitlist for Wednesday, however. Wow, was only there once before, 3.5 years ago..

On the 12th, I'm going to The Southbury Child, at the Bridge Theatre. I noticed that UITCS is going, later in the week - ah well.

On the 13th, back with Civilised London for dinner - this time at The Crown itself, where we usually meet for drinks before heading somewhere else for dinner. Excellent choice. Which marks the beginning of a whole spate of Meetups in a row! When's the last time that happened..?

On the 14th, back with The Garden Talks - this online talk is How Do Languages Evolve?

On the 15th, back with the London Classical Music and Theatre Group for the opera Otello, at the Royal Opera House.

On the 16th, which is a Saturday, I had booked with Discover London for a trip to see a cart making ceremony - and then Eleanor, organiser of TunedIn London, advertised a concert through the World Music Meetup, for that evening, at City Hope Church. So now I'm going to both.

On Sunday the 17th, back with Bucket List London - this time, it's a trip to Sandown Antiques Market. Well, I've never been to Sandown, so this could be interesting.

On the 18th, back with North London Friends! for the first time since before lockdown. This is for an Edinburgh Comedy Festival preview, at the King's Head in Crouch End, featuring Lucy Porter and Rachel Fairburn.

On the 19th.. I'm taking a punt that I won't actually be employed that day, and have signed up again - at last - for a walk with Laurence and the 45+ Not Grumpy Old Londoners. This is The Magic of Midtown - and as I said to him, it finishes very near my new home! I also promised to let him know if I can't actually make it - although, even if I have started work by then (which would be surprising), perhaps I could take a day off.

On the 20th, I finish my Meetup run with a trip with UITCS to Leicester Square Theatre to see Frankie Boyle, who has a work in progress show.

On the 21st, I'm thinking of heading - at last - to Summer by the River at More London. This is for a free evening of music, curated by Soho Radio. Then I'm back to Ireland for the weekend.

On the 25th, I'm headed to see The Throne, a comedy about to open at Charing Cross Theatre, in which the Queen gets locked in a portaloo with a staunch republican. Time Out has an offer of £10 tickets for the cheapest seats for this - a saving of more than 50%!

On the 26th - tan-ta-ra! I finally managed to get a decently priced ticket to Jerusalem, at the Apollo. I have heard so much about this, and it's always at the top of the Time Out listings - nearly as hard as Hamilton to get a reasonably priced ticket for, so I'm delighted to get one, if only not to have to look any more.

On the 27th, back to Summer by the River again.. for Bumper Blyton: Improvised Adventures for Grown-Ups! Improvised comedy in the style of Enid Blyton books.. sounds jolly good!

On the 28th - another UITCS event that Meetup finally decided to flag to me. So I've booked to go with them to see Briefs Factory's show, Bite Club! at Queen Elizabeth Hall. Drag, burlesque.. should be fun!

And on the 29th, thinking about the National Theatre's River Stage 2022. This will be the first night of the Hackney Empire's Young Producers Weekend, and there'll be some dance and some music.